Guardian article - suicide of ME sufferer

[Jenny]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/09/jill-anderson-why-i-let-my-husband-die

Unfortunate implication that psychological help would have alleviated symptoms. And I wish they'd stop talking about 'fatigue' in these sorts of articles - it makes ME sound quite trivial.

Jenny

 

[Enid]

Very unfortunate - a little quiet chat from the you know whos (must be demi-gods) puts everyone elses world to rights - do they walk on water too. No an illness which the UK medical establishment over decades sought to bury with their own ostrich ignorance.

 

[gu3vara]

So sad... I'm also on a descending path and I really hope I can turn it over before completely losing faith too

 

[Valentijn]

Unfortunate implication that psychological help would have alleviated symptoms. And I wish they'd stop talking about 'fatigue' in these sorts of articles - it makes ME sound quite trivial.

I didn't see anything about fatigue, and I thought the article itself was completely neutral about the psychological aspects. It reported what the doctors were telling him to do, and his reaction to it. I'd prefer if they came out on our side, but neutrality isn't a bad alternative.

 

[Enid]

Neutral is not good enough. It's not being neutral that has taken world-wide research with all the pathological findings of ME forward. Now can the Press catch up.

 

[Jenny]

I didn't see anything about fatigue, and I thought the article itself was completely neutral about the psychological aspects. It reported what the doctors were telling him to do, and his reaction to it. I'd prefer if they came out on our side, but neutrality isn't a bad alternative.

Yes, you're right Valentijn about the 'fatigue' - the only time they mention it is in using the phrase 'chronic fatigue syndrome'. That's one of my bugbears I'm afraid.

I thought this paragraph rather implied that therapy would improve his condition, but perhaps I'm just nit-picking.

It wasn't until three years later that a consultant finally accepted there was something wrong with Paul. He was given pain relief drugs and encouraged to seek psychological help, which he didn't do. "He was open-minded about [therapy] and would have had some if he thought it would get results," says Jill. "But he had some homeopathic treatment and fishing was a form of therapy for him."

Jenny

 

[DaiWelsh]

I think it would have been nice to have a bit more of an explanation for *why* he didn't want therapy, but otherwise seemed quite balanced to me.

 

[Wayne]

I thought this was a very good (and sympathetic) article. I personally didn't see anything that would contribute to a negative image of people who deal with ME/CFS. To the contrary, I thought the strong and repeated emphasis on a very loving relationship between the two helped dispel any notion that this was any kind of psychological issue.

Wayne

 

[Tito]

One with ME understands sentences such as 'we were stunned by the realisation that he would never get better'. But for people who believe it's all in the mind, the article just reinforces that belief.

 

[Purple]

This was also covered by The Mirror (which is a completely different type of UK newspaper)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/wife-watched-husband-kill-himself-854744

It is my understanding this article also appeared in the printed version (The Daily Mirror)

 

[SilverbladeTE]

Amazing how long it has taken for this to come out, isn't it?
This and other stories and, oh how softly...
Yet one asshole with explosives sewn into his pants that screws up and burns half his balls off makes HUGE news, hm?
ah huh.

Thousands of silent deaths...oh how likes of Heydreich or Stalin would have LOVED to have invented this method of mass slaughter!
So cheap! So little fuss! So...well designed.
As I keep noting, our mass murderers have all the information at hand from the pages of history on how NOT to get caught, how to spin and dress things up, so you don't need ovens, gulags or poison gas.
And we ai't talking about the deranged likes of serial killers or terrorists, nope, we have State Sponsored Invisible Genocide For Profit!

Poor lady, seeing loved ones slowly waste away is an utter nightmare

 

[Googsta]

I hope articles like this also help people understand the essential part Carer's play & how much suffering they go through trying to help & take care of us with no support. So sad.

CFS's physical symptoms can lead to emotional and psychological problems, too, born out of frustration, and from the fact that often the medical profession doesn't take the condition seriously.

Well summarized IMO.

The day Paul died, he and Jill had started, finally, to fill out a detailed, 60-page form that would allow them to claim disability allowance.

60 pages is ridiculous, it's nothing like that here, less than 20 & the questions are reasonable.
I must say it always gets to me filling in these forms. Not only must be admit how seriously disabled we are, but those of us with Carer's also find out how much of a burden we are.
Of course, if you are alone you just can't take care of anything.

 

[Googsta]

I hope articles like this also help people understand the essential part Carer's play & how much suffering they go through trying to help & take care of us with no support. So sad.

CFS's physical symptoms can lead to emotional and psychological problems, too, born out of frustration, and from the fact that often the medical profession doesn't take the condition seriously.

Well summarized IMO.

The day Paul died, he and Jill had started, finally, to fill out a detailed, 60-page form that would allow them to claim disability allowance.

60 pages is ridiculous, it's nothing like that here, less than 20 & the questions are reasonable.
I must say it always gets to me filling in these forms. Not only must be admit how seriously disabled we are, but those of us with Carer's also find out how much of a burden we are.
Of course, if you are alone you just can't take care of anything.

 

[anniekim]

Parts of it was good, other parts i found iffy. i found the sentence about his alleged hyprochrondria somewhat bizarre. I remember reading about this sad case when it happened a few years ago and i think I recall that his family believed he had a psychological illness, but can't say for definite, if I got that right...

 

[jimells]

Arrested and tried for manslaughter. Horrible. What is wrong with the stupid cops? Seems to me they should've arrested a few doctors and bureaucrats instead.

And we're treated just as badly today as ten years ago. But look at all the improvements made at killing people by remote control -- that's what's *really* important, right?

 

[Jenny]

The wife of this man was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour today. Very sad.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/b01k1lwl

Jenny

 

[Wayne]

The wife of this man was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour today. Very sad.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/b01k1lwl

Jenny

Thanks for posting Jenny. The actual interview starts at the 12:52 mark.

Wayne